That famous entrepreneur, Elon Musk, the one behind PayPal and the electric car company Tesla? He has a younger brother, Kimbal Musk, who’s helping Indianapolis grow its local foods movement.

Kimbal Musk, 43, is an entrepreneur, too. He sits on the board of Tesla and his brother’s rocket ship/spacecraft company SpaceX. Years ago, the Musks introduced Zip2, a web software business that helped newspapers build online city guides. In 1999, the brothers sold Zip2 to Compaq for a reported $300 million.

Afterward, Kimbal Musk could have done anything, but he took a humble route to cooking school and got interested in changing how America eats. He attended New York City’s French Culinary Institute. Next, he and a business partner opened a Boulder, Colo., farm-to-table restaurant named The Kitchen. The idea was to support local farmers and create a place where people could converse and connect over honest food, sort of like the family kitchen at home.

“Real food is very simply food that you trust to nourish your body, to nourish the farmer and to nourish the planet, and in our industrial food system we have no trust,” Musk said.

Charcuterie plates are among snacks served at The Kitchen.(Photo: Laurie Smith Photography)

The Kitchen has since expanded to five locations, including one in Chicago and one in Memphis, Tenn. It also spawned two affordable farm-to-table restaurant concepts: Next Door, a sit-down spot where meals cost $9 to $14, and The Kitchenette, a grab-and-go place where everything costs $5 or less. The Kitchen’s dinner entrees run $20 to $40. Musk wants to bring people at every income level wholesome, locally grown food.

He’s exploring real estate opportunities in Indianapolis for The Kitchen and Next Door. Rumor had it that he was sniffing around Mass Ave., but Musk said he hasn’t selected a location.

“We’ll look at the market of a community and try to figure out which one (restaurant concept) is right for the time,” Musk said.

The Kitchen restaurant in Chicago is at 316 N. Clark St. Lunch, brunch and dinner are served. Prices start at $6 for snacks to $42 for dry-aged rib-eye.(Photo: Laurie Smith Photography)

“The Kitchen performs a particular role which is really critical, that supports the other two concepts. So The Kitchen, because it’s a little more upscale, we can be much more flexible with local farmers. We can change the menu every day. Farmers can show up with whatever product they have. We can really work with them closely. … So it’s a really important one to do first,” Musk said.

“Once we have a supply chain built up, The Kitchenette and Next Door sit on top of that and have a much more fixed menu that is much more affordable to many more people.”

Establishing learning gardens in and around Indy is Musk’s immediate focus. He would like the gardens and restaurants launched here in two years.

The gardens are built by The Kitchen Community. It’s the nonprofit arm of Musk’s food endeavors. The organization develops modular, raised-bed gardens customized to fit any schoolyard. The low-maintenance gardens with built-in irrigation systems fit various surfaces. Kids get to dig while teachers share lessons. The Kitchen Community works with partners to supply curriculum in health, nutrition and entrepreneurship.

The Kitchen Community customizes modular, raised-bed gardens to fit any schoolyard. The low-maintenance gardens include built-in irrigation systems and fit various surfaces.(Photo: Laurie Smith Photography)

Once gardens are established, The Kitchen Community’s full-time garden educator staff helps ensure gardens flourish. Garden maintenance is up to each school.

David Rosenberg, Indianapolis Public Schools operations officer, has been working with The Kitchen Community to launch the learning gardens in a state where almost one-third of adults are obese. “I think it’s a critical part of the overall district mission to educate children about healthy living and healthy food,” he said.

Indiana has the 15th-highest adult obesity rate in America, according to The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America report released in September 2016. Obesity rates for kids ages 10 to 17 is 14 percent, ranking Indiana 28th in the nation for childhood obesity in that age range.

Jump IN for Healthy Kids, which works to reduce childhood obesity, estimates that 221,000 children in Central Indiana are at risk for diabetes, heart disease and cancer based on their physical state.

Indianapolis Public Schools has no systemwide garden-based teaching program, but Rosenberg said such curriculum is beneficial. The impact on kids is broad. They learn about nutritious food, see and participate in how it’s grown, discover how it fits into meal planning and realize that “with love and care they can really make something happen,” Rosenberg said.

“We think it just adds to the cultural environment of the school.”

The Kitchen Community is soliciting applications for gardens from Marion County schools. Construction would occur at two to three schools before the end of October. Gardens cost is $35,000 to $50,000 each, depending on the size and scope of individual projects. The goal for Indianapolis and surrounding school districts is 100 learning gardens, a $5 million to $6 million undertaking.

Private donors foot the bill. The Indianapolis-based Herbert Simon Family Foundation has committed an undisclosed amount to start the learning gardens. The foundation will also match every dollar raised by The Kitchen Community in greater Indianapolis until all 100 learning gardens here are funded.

“The impact-first strategy is so neat, and to me, it’s just personally inspiring. I mean that’s embedded in everything … he (Musk) does and everything that The Kitchen does. That to me is so needed today,” Steve Simon said. He is the son of Indianapolis real estate tycoon Herbert Simon and a director for the Herbert Simon Family Foundation.

Food costs $10 or less at the casual Next Door restaurant. This one is at Union Station in Denver, Colo.(Photo: Davis Tilly Photography)

Steve Simon met Musk few years ago via a friend in Denver. Over lunch one day, Simon asked Musk if he would consider bringing The Kitchen and learning gardens to Indianapolis. Musk visited Indy and found city leaders, influencers and nonprofit organizations open to the learning garden model.

“We want to go where a city really wants to be part of change. Many cities will kind of fight this idea with ‘Oh, don’t tell us what to do,’ and we certainly aren’t here to tell people what to do, but, frankly, most cities need a lot of help,” Musk said. “Indianapolis is welcoming.”

The city has urban garden advocates and a local foods mindset among some restaurateurs, Musk said.

Indiana software mastermind Chris Baggott has applied his millions in profits to developing the sustainable, free-range Tyner Pond Farm in Greenfield and boosting similar farm efforts in Indiana. He serves the local bounty at his restaurants, The Mug in Greenfield among them.

“I think Indianapolis actually is a hidden gem,” Musk said. “You guys have got a great selection of restaurants that are run by young and vibrant entrepreneurs doing cool things with real food … and I was really happy to see that.”